A CANNABIS factory was discovered at a house near York city centre.

Police said they were called by the landlord of the property in Lansdowne Terrace, off Lawrence Street, after she found cannabis cultivation equipment inside the house.

A North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “Police attended the property and seized the equipment and a number of dead cannabis plants.

“It appears from initial inquiries that the property had been vacated some weeks previously. Inquiries are currently ongoing.”

The spokeswoman said police believed a former tenant or former tenants of the property had been operating the equipment.

She said they had told the landlord they were students and she was renting the house to them on that basis.

She was unable to give further details about the dead plants, but said the factory had caused “quite a bit of damage” throughout the property. Police are now appealing for any information to help them track down the offender or offenders.

The spokeswoman urged anyone who saw any suspicious or unusual activity at a property in their street, such as curtains drawn all the time, or a strange smell coming from the property, to phone police. Police were called to the property on November 27.

If you have any information, phone 0845 6060247.